Iran Focus: Tehran, Jan. 22  Iran has denied allowing women to take part in this year's presidential elections.
This morning Reuters news agency reported that Iran's legislative watchdog had said that women could run in June's presidential election, clearing up an ambiguous article of the constitution. Separately, several political groups within the regime congratulated the head of the Guardian Council. Iran Focus

Tehran, Jan. 22  Iran has denied allowing women to take part in this year's presidential elections.

This morning Reuters news agency reported that Iran's legislative watchdog had said that women could run in June's presidential election, clearing up an ambiguous article of the constitution. Separately, several political groups within the regime congratulated the head of the Guardian Council.

Iran's constitution says that candidates should be political "rejal," an Arabic word for men.

Reuters quoted Gholamhossein Elham, spokesman for the conservative Guardian Council, as saying that the word could also refer to women.

"Women who have the necessary qualifications have the right to run in the presidential elections," he told state television, Reuters reported.

However Elham told a state-run news agency, ISNA, "I have not changed the meaning of the word rejal".

"I never had an interview on such a subject in this way on television, and the article published is not correct", he said.

This afternoon, in an interview with the hardline Fars news agency, Elham disputed media reports and said that under order 115 in Iran's constitution, the Guardian Council would veto any female candidates hoping to take part in the presidential elections.

"The word rejal does not refer to women", Elham said.

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